Tag: gay
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Not ready to leave
I have packed and am ready to leave. I really loved it here and will miss Cristina and her family. It’s been one of the best experiences I have ever had. Breakfast on the terrace with the smell of flower and the sound of the swallows in the sunshine I shall always remember and the…
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The afternoon tour
This afternoon our tour with the lovely Maurizio took us to the 13th century church of Santa Maria Novella. Not necessarily beautiful architecturally though it was interesting. A large church it’s principal interest lay in the wonderful frescoes in the Tornabuoni chapel by Ghirlandaio from the late 15th century and those earlier frescoes in another…
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An Italian evening
Yesterday evening I had a nice surprise. Cristina had invited two of her friends to meet me. We had dinner together and I tried to drag my Italian together and have a conversation. Luckily they spoke good English too. They corrected me when I was wrong which was very helpful. They were very welcoming and…
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Pomeriggio a L’ospidale degli Innocenti
This afternoon we had a wonderful afternoon at the Ospidale. A very beautiful renaissance building by Brunelleschi. It was a fascinating place founded by the guild of silk makers in the fifteenth century as a place where women who were poor, prositutes and abandoned children could be left to be cared for by the church.…
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A room with a view
I’m sitting at the table having my colazione of cereal, yoghurt, fruit and croissant looking at the view of the terrace in Cristina’s apartment… it’s sunny today after yesterday’s rain and the swallows are flying high squealing … they zoom everywhere. The bells of Firenze are ringing out from the churches. It’s one of those…
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Arriving in Paris … it’s swingtime!
Paris is warm and sunny this evening and in the Place de la Republique an impromptu swing session is underway. There are skateboarders and kids kicking a football about; it lifts the spirts. Art Galleries in the Rue Turenne have private views spilling people with their wine onto the pavements. The cafes are full as…
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A La recherche de temps perdue
Well I’m lying in my top bunk ready to board my train to Paris later this morning and leave a chilly and dank Geneva. This hostel is terrible. It’s clean and the room is good but it’s so anonymous… like a big hotel with absolutely no atmosphere. 5 floors of anodyne corridors, an empty games…
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Ravenna III
Baptistery of Neoniano Another beautiful little brick building hiding wonders. Sixth century. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves
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Ravenna II
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia This tiny fifth century brick building is a jewel inside. It looks nothing from the outside but the interior is full of wonders. The mosaics show early Christian iconography and imagery in Byzantine style; very different from our later ways of depicting Christ. It is utterly moving and so beautiful. The…
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The Mosaics of Ravenna I
San Vitale I’ll publish each church separately Begun in 525 this remarkable building was built and later decorated under the aegis of the Emperor Justinian and his wife, the powerful Empress Theodora. Both appear in these fantastic mosaics. They are truly inspirational in scale and workmanship. The photos don’t do them justice … the golden…
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Il Torre Asinelli
I did it … 97.2m and 498 steps … I as terrified but it was exhilarating… and fantastic views of the city … when I dared get close enough to the edge. There used to be over 100 towers in Bologna but only 24 remain. Asinelli is the tallest. The neighbouring tower, Garisanda leans at…
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The Archiginnasio di Bologna
This is a is a splendid place. The seat of the old university and still in use as it houses the rare book collection of the university and also the Stabat Mater room which is used for some lectures. Redolent with learning and the researches of great minds of the past. It also contains the…
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Some quotes I’ve been thinking on lately which seem to resonate with me more than ever
Often we allow ourselves to be upset by small things we should despise and forget. We lose many irreplaceable hours brooding over grievances that, in a year’s time, will be forgotten by us and by everybody. No, let us devote our life to worthwhile actions and feelings, to great thoughts, real affections and enduring undertakings.…
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Ljubljana and then off to lake Bled
The hostel The hostel … an ex military prison is really chic … voted best European hostel by Lonely Planet. In a bohemian cultural quarter. Clean, modern vibe with great facilities and good roommates. The area outside has some great graffiti and it a little grungy … on purpose I think. Nice breakfast too. Ljubljana…
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Escaping ….
I’ve called this blog escape to myself and it’s struck me how many people I’ve met are escaping from something… or trying to find a place where they fit. Like me there is a dissatisfaction with their lives and they are consumed with the idea that somewhere there is that place in which they find…
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A lovely day with a new friend
A lovely chilled day in the sunshine with a coffee and walk around the city with Sophy who lives in Devon. We had a relaxing wander and found we had a lot in common. Lunch of polenta, sausage and cheese rosti at a boho restaurant with a relaxed vibe … outside in the sunshine. Then…
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A really unexpected evening …
Friendship is the golden thread that ties the heart of all the world. ….. quote from John Evelyn “Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon. Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height. Live in fragments no longer”….E.M. Forster, Howards…
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… to Aquileia… a hidden jewel
I wasn’t sure what I would find here. A train journey and then waiting for a bus it seemed quite a journey as it’s about 40 miles from Trieste. However I’d heard about it and it is yet another UNESCO world heritage site so I thought it would be worth a look. I walked a…
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A visit to the Banksy exhibition
This was a really fascinating exhibition. While we all know about Banksy and his notoriety this presentation gave me a real insight into his mindset; his politics, humanity and way of seeing the paradox of the world in which we live. The basis of capitalism which underpins war, consumerism and the unseen machinery directing our…
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Leaving Genova for Trieste
Well I’m feeling better. Not because Cedric and I spent a wonderful day in Genoa … he showed me his favourite spots and Brignole is a really great part of the city but because I feel that I have dissipated the guilt I felt for not helping him out in Verona and he was so…
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By boat to the islands… Murano and Burano
Murano Taking a trip to the islands. It’s a beautiful day and while it’s breezy the sun is warm. It will be nice to have some time away from the city. Murano is very pretty and remarkably quiet. We had our glass demonstration which was interesting. Murano , contrary to expectations, was really lovely with…
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A little afternoon trip to Vicenza
A pretty little town which on a Sunday afternoon had a chilled and relaxed vibe. Everyone out for an afternoon stroll in the sunshine; a spritz, a coffee, a spremuta and some pasticceria. Musicians in the street, people window shopping (some great shops) or just taking the air. Young and old it felt so natural…
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A first morning in Venice … La Serenissima
I’m sitting in Florian’s in St Marks Square as I write. A piece of Vienna in Venice. Rather beautiful inside but of course it’s now a tourist attraction resting on the myth of turn of the century bourgeois experience. But the coffee is good even if it costs an arm, a leg and a head.…
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Ducal Palace in Mantua
The Palace is remarkable. It is a huge space with so many rooms and galleries. It is a testament to the wealth, power and pride of the Gonzaga family who ruled here. The frescos by Mantegna in La Camera degli Sposi are absolutely wonderful. Painted into wet plaster they seem fresh as the day the…
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Street Art in Desanzano del Garda
This is a very pretty little town: and very up market. As a result there is a lot of interesting street art. The big fibreglass animals are great fun. There are also some good modern sculptures throughout the squares I had the chance to catch a street installation … “Riflessi del Lago”. Using recycled clothing…
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Last Day in Florence… still enticing … and an Escher exhibition
I’m still finding hidden views and places on my final morning here. It’s a fascinating place. Chiesa Santa Maria Maggiore A beautiful church with some original 14th century Frescos Escher exhibition True to form I found an exhibition! Escher is fascinating and what a great draughtsman. His inventiveness and wonderful precision is hypnotic. The first…
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Uffizi
Not sure I loved the Uffizi if I’m honest. I saw some of the famous painters but it was a lot of religious art by a lot of second rank Renaissance painters. However did get to see theee or four works I loved; Botticelli, Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Bellini among them. At €25 I thought it…
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Santa Croce Florence
The church of Santa Croce in the centre of Florence has an important place in the history of art as it contains two seminal fresco cycles painted for the chapels of the wealthy Bardi and Peruzzi families. Giotto is important to the Renaissance as he was one of the first artists to attempt to portray…
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Siena and a wine tasting
After San Gimignano we left for a lunch and wine tasting. You know me and wine … I drink it … but the owner who took us around and lead the tasting during lunch was passionate about his work and it showed. The winery specialised in Chianti but also made Balsamic Vinegar which seemed just…
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San Gimignano … an almost too perfect Town
I’m sitting outside the hostel listening to church bells as I write this. the drive to San Gimignano took us through some beautiful scenery. Vineyards of Chianti country, grey green olive groves. Forested hills and valleys until we finally climbed the steep hill to the town. The Italians take their history and culture very seriously.…
Escape to myself 